Long Beach Pageant - Yay or Nay?
The Long Beach Pageant is coming up... what do you think about that? Good civic festivity, or shallow sexists event?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Cena on -
i like it, i don't see what's wrong with it.. it's a great way for beautiful young ladies to make something happen for themselves and have fun doing it.
-
Permalink Reply by The Man on -
I think it's dope. Like Cena, I don't see anything wrong, it's not like people are forcing beautiful, sexy young ladies to do the event. ^_^
-
Permalink Reply by JON on -
This would be awesome. Did you know that they used to have the Miss Universe pageant in LB back in the 60's I believe. So yeah, why not.
-
Permalink Reply by JulsnMatt1028 on -
I think they further perpetuate the pressures society places on young females to be perfect, and to have all of their self worth based upon other peoples judging of their exteriors. What defines the standard and the mold of beautiful? I work everyday to make my daughter understand that her worth and value in this world is not based upon others judgment of her and her exterior. That her beauty comes from deep within, it's within her spirit and her love, not by how much attention is adorned on her by others because of how she looks.
These lyrics from Mos Def put it pretty well to me:
"Well, from my understanding people get better
when they start to understand that, they are valuable
And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
or cause somebody, think they sexy
but they valuable caause they been created by God
And God, makes you valuable"
Let me ask another question. What do you think of the little kids pageants?
-
Permalink Reply by Cena on
-
i know this is a bit old, but i just wanted to say that they do look at more than the exterior beauty with these pageants. they ask them meaningful questions and have them perform talents, so it's also based on a talent the girls have and how well they do during the interview (which gives us a peak into their mind, i've seen the dumb ones fall flat on their face during the interview questions - not literally of course...)
anyway, as far as kid pageants go they are okay as long as the kids have fun doing them. i dislike seeing pushy moms who force their kids to "live out the parents dream". but if it's what they kid wants to do then why not? i want to nurture any hobbies or interests my kids have. i think there are more to these pageants then meet the eye, but to figure out if they're good or bad i think all depends on the experience and the individual.
-
Permalink Reply by Zavijava on -
I know this topic is old, but I wanted to include my two cents.
I just finished reading two interesting books Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty and The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Na... . They both look at the value of beauty through an evolutionary psychology lens and come to the conclusion that beauty has value beyond being shallow and sexist. The value of beauty from an evolutionary/biological stand point is that it indicates who the most fertile and viable members of a species are for reproduction, which is ironic, I doubt most women who compete in pageants want to be pregnant anytime soon.
It is nice but unrealistic for parents to tell their children that looks don't matter, because they do. I think a better approach is to stress being healthy and balanced through cultivation of all aspects of yourself (mental, social, emotional and psychical attributes). It is good to question who sets the beauty standards and why. I used to think that cultivating beauty was incompatible with other aspects of myself, then I realized that traits are not mutually exclusive. I have worked with girls of all ages, and I teach them that it is ok to be multifaceted ,you can work to be smart, strong and pretty or none of the above, do whatever makes you feel happy and whole.
I participated in a pageant out of curiosity it forced me to step out of my comfort zone and cultivate some aspects of myself that I had neglected. I probably would not do it again, but I am glad I tried it.
-
Permalink Reply by The Man on
-
Would you suggest parents to get their kids into pageants? The insight you provided have good points and although it's hard for me to divorce myself from the idea of having a young girl participate in a pageant, there is nothing wrong with giving it try.
-
Permalink Reply by Zavijava on
-
I would not encourage parents to put their children in pageants. If I had a child and she wanted to be in a pageant I would ask her why, then I would talk to her about all the work that goes into it and make sure that she understands what she is asking for. I am not advocating for child pageants, I was leaning more towards supporting a child's interest in beautifying and dressing up as forms of play, if that is what they are interested in. I don't think that children should be penalized or viewed as less then for acting "girly" or wanting to be "girly". Parents should not stifle any aspect of their child's personality, they should encourage them to be balanced.
p.s I was in a pageant as an adult.
-
Permalink Reply by The Man on
-
Wouldn't this be a form of art? I mean if a young lady loves fashion and cosmetology and loves to DESIGN, what's wrong with that? Normally that's something someone loves to do. It's not some sort of "pressure."
Now for kids...I think it's wack. Normally they are brought up like that.
-
Permalink Reply by JulsnMatt1028 on
-
Ah good one, and I do actually support the whole fashion as a creative outlet thing, BUT this particular question wasn't meant to be so much about fashion shows. I was talking more specifically about beauty pageants... Minor difference, but still significant enough to me... :)
© 2012 Created by CityLife.
